Alyn Smith MEP

Scotland

I’m #SNPbecause

I’m Alyn Smith, the SNP member of the European Parliament, first elected in 2004. The MEPs represent the whole of Scotland; north, south, east and west, representing five and a half million people within the European Parliament in Brussels and Strasburg.

As an MEP, I am responsible for overseeing the EU executives, so that’s the European Commission and what the member states are up to acting in the European Council. I do think Scotland in the world is absolutely fundamental to what the SNP’s all about. We want to make our own decisions in Scotland obviously, but I think representing Scotland’s values on a bigger stage, a wider stage, is just such a privilege and I’ve been so proud since 2004 to be able to do that.

What drew me to the party was the passion, the commitment and actually the sheer altruism of so many people who are involved in the SNP.

Joining the SNP gives you access to an incredible group of people. In your own local community, in every street in Scotland there’s an SNP member. If you see a double decker bus passing-by full of people, there will be an SNP member on it. These are people who have joined the SNP to be part of something that is greater than all of us. There is a lot of stuff that is great about Scotland, there are a lot of things that we need to change as well, and that is going to happen because people organise themselves, and that’s going to happen because people join political parties and I think that the SNP is unique in terms of our passion, in terms of our vision and I don’t see that in the other parties. If anybody is even thinking about joining the SNP, come along to a meeting and try it.